While I am not exactly thrilled about the idea of LF in Fenway being handled by a platoon, I decide to do a little further number crunching. Based on the hitting profile of the last 3 years with normalized BABIP, my guesstimates for the production out of LF is as follows.

Gomes certainly fared worse than expected vs. LHP. Assuming a nice even split of 150 PA for Gomes and 450PA for the LHH outfielder, Gomes posted a rather lackluster .247 / .344 / .452 (.796OPS) batting line with 7HRs and 20 Runs Created. Clearly he does better, given he has not had an OPS vs. LHP lower than .856 during that stretch. The reason rests on the fact that his BABIP vs. LHP over the last 3 years is .366, whereas his normalized BABIP given his LD/GB/FB splits figures to be in the area of .272. Gomes does not make up for the difference with speed, and it could be that he simply mashes the tar out of the ball vs. LHP, making defensive lays difficult. But, hey, my splits are my splits and Gomes did not match up well.

For left-handed hitters getting the bulk of the plate appearances, I looked at primary candidates Nava, Carp, Sweeney and the readily available Brennan Boesch. They tabulated as follows.

Nava .245 / .324/ .379 (.703OPS) with 5 HRs and 49RC.

Carp .267 /.337 / .440 (.777OPS) with 15HRs and 60RC

Boesch .243 / .297 / .388 (.685OPS) with 12HRs and 48RC

Sweeney . 269/ .330 / .368 (.698OPS) with 4HRs and 50RC.

Clearly Boesch is not worth looking at for a solution. Right now, Carp figures to be the clear winner.

This means the expectations from the Carp / Gomes LF platoon should net a result of .261/ .338 / .443 (.781OPS) with 21HRs and 81RC. Or almost exactly what Hanley Ramirez did last season…

right now Carp is our best platoon option in LF. Thats not very comforting.

Although when Gomes played FT in Tampa his splits against RHP werent as bad. They werent great, but I think theres certain RHP that he does hit good against and should be playing against those pitchers.

The Red Sox are paying about 30 million for the OF, which is pitiful in the 3 and 4 slot. Shane is a 13 million dollar embarrassment.

Carp and Gomes are butchers in the field, not to mention how pitiful that is for LF. Carp came out of a trash can.

Let me give you a hint, given what Cherry has constructed on the current roster:

Note: Ellsbury should have been traded and Shane never signed, and J. Upton acquired and extended, but this is from what Cherry has on the books:

Platoon Shane and Gomes in LF

Ellsbury in CF because his arm is too weak to play anywerhe else

Bradley, Jr. in RF

Forget the notion of Gomes and Nava or Carp, which should get you fired for just suggesting it. The Red Sox wold have the 3rd and 4th OF roster slots as horrible defenders with no option for late inning close game lead defensive OF sub options. On offense, Nava and Carp and Gomes give the Red Sox inferior Fenway production against "v oppenents LF'ers for 2013".

Now, let's assume that, barring no long term DL's, that Gomes and Carp or Nava is a year long seaworthy ship. What is your plan for LF beyond this blown-up bridge to somewhere? Gomes and Carp?

Carp might be the best option now, but it probably means little as the roster changes. Jackie Bradley could end up filling that role by mid season or some other castoff from another team with decent platoon splits.

Are you saying that the last 3 years Gomes has a BABIP against lefties of .366. But you are projecting a crazy low BABIP of .272? In Fenway? I can't buy that and feel it brings your normalising formula into question.

I still expect Sweeney to be the left fielder. With Carp on the bench. Nava and Bradley in the minors. Sweeney's defense, pitch taking, and equal OB% winning the day over Carp.

I think if we got 15 HR from Mike Carp we'd be quite happy, actually. ( assuming he even makes the club !??!).

But with uncertainty over Ortiz's health and full-season availability I foresee Gomes, Carp, and possibly Napoli sharing DH spot. Thus opening LF time for possibly Brentz or Linares combined with Nava , and even JBJr. coming up as soon as mid-June.

As long as Bradley gets to play full-time and not bench sit or platoon, I'd have no problem with his early debut. And since Brentz may have contact issues at ML level, wouldn't be at all surprised if Linares makes 40-man with eventual callup.

While I am not exactly thrilled about the idea of LF in Fenway being handled by a platoon, I decide to do a little further number crunching. Based on the hitting profile of the last 3 years with normalized BABIP, my guesstimates for the production out of LF is as follows.

Gomes certainly fared worse than expected vs. LHP. Assuming a nice even split of 150 PA for Gomes and 450PA for the LHH outfielder, Gomes posted a rather lackluster .247 / .344 / .452 (.796OPS) batting line with 7HRs and 20 Runs Created. Clearly he does better, given he has not had an OPS vs. LHP lower than .856 during that stretch. The reason rests on the fact that his BABIP vs. LHP over the last 3 years is .366, whereas his normalized BABIP given his LD/GB/FB splits figures to be in the area of .272. Gomes does not make up for the difference with speed, and it could be that he simply mashes the tar out of the ball vs. LHP, making defensive lays difficult. But, hey, my splits are my splits and Gomes did not match up well.

For left-handed hitters getting the bulk of the plate appearances, I looked at primary candidates Nava, Carp, Sweeney and the readily available Brennan Boesch. They tabulated as follows.

Nava .245 / .324/ .379 (.703OPS) with 5 HRs and 49RC.

Carp .267 /.337 / .440 (.777OPS) with 15HRs and 60RC

Boesch .243 / .297 / .388 (.685OPS) with 12HRs and 48RC

Sweeney . 269/ .330 / .368 (.698OPS) with 4HRs and 50RC.

Clearly Boesch is not worth looking at for a solution. Right now, Carp figures to be the clear winner.

This means the expectations from the Carp / Gomes LF platoon should net a result of .261/ .338 / .443 (.781OPS) with 21HRs and 81RC. Or almost exactly what Hanley Ramirez did last season…

The research was well appreciated notin and appears to be a fair assessment of what we may expect offensively. Defensively I'm not so sure whether any of these guys will handle the monster well. I predicted 88 wins out of this team through good health and the fact we seem to have a few dirt dogs back that may just be hungry enough to get it done with decent pitching.

I like our defense much less at this point at several positions. Ross and Victorino should help out in a couple key areas but there will probably be games where our defense kills us.

Carp might be the best option now, but it probably means little as the roster changes. Jackie Bradley could end up filling that role by mid season or some other castoff from another team with decent platoon splits.

Hire this idiot as the new GM. Carp as the 'best option now" and "by mid season some other castoff". 150 million a year or more budget leads to this kind of brilliance.

Thanks for the recommendation, Softy. I'll be sure to use you as a reference.

Let's see, Reed Johnson for 1M and one year and Loney for 2M and 1 year, vs. Gomes for 5m a year for 2 years of gomes and .5M for the great Carp. Do the math.

Reed Johnson got more money than that from Atlanta. Also you left out the part where Loney cannot hit.

I'd rather have Justin Upton in LF too. But Arizona wanted no part of Ellsbury and Upton did specifically state he would NOT waive his no trade to Bostom and that it was NOT a negotiating ploy.

I do hate platoons (re-read the first line in the original post) but Upton was not an option. So one year of Carp/Gomes and bide time for Stanton. ...

Speaking of Stanton...If Bogy keeps looking solid at 3b, do you think the Sox include WMB as a major piece to a trade for Stanton? Something like WMB/Doubie/Brentz/and maybe a Ranaudo type pitcher, if he performs well in 2013? At least its a starting point that wouldnt get you hung up on right away...

I read a couple places where Stanton could be available next offseason or earlier if he keeps trying to talk his way out of town. Only concern with him is hes been injured a bit. Hopefully its not a regular occurance...

Let's see, Reed Johnson for 1M and one year and Loney for 2M and 1 year, vs. Gomes for 5m a year for 2 years of gomes and .5M for the great Carp. Do the math.

Reed Johnson got more money than that from Atlanta. Also you left out the part where Loney cannot hit.

I'd rather have Justin Upton in LF too. But Arizona wanted no part of Ellsbury and Upton did specifically state he would NOT waive his no trade to Bostom and that it was NOT a negotiating ploy.

I do hate platoons (re-read the first line in the original post) but Upton was not an option. So one year of Carp/Gomes and bide time for Stanton. ...

Speaking of Stanton...If Bogy keeps looking solid at 3b, do you think the Sox include WMB as a major piece to a trade for Stanton? Something like WMB/Doubie/Brentz/and maybe a Ranaudo type pitcher, if he performs well in 2013? At least its a starting point that wouldnt get you hung up on right away...

I read a couple places where Stanton could be available next offseason or earlier if he keeps trying to talk his way out of town. Only concern with him is hes been injured a bit. Hopefully its not a regular occurance...

I would give Stanton another year or two before really judging his overall health, or mindset to help a club long term.